


Proudest Creation

by fizzingtophats



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Other, inserting an OC into a story because why not, the one where Kamski raises an android like a human
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 21:14:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15009593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fizzingtophats/pseuds/fizzingtophats
Summary: Elijah Kamski once conducted a lengthy experiment about androids and their humanity, beginning his work just before his departure from CyberLife. His test subject? A specially made android that was different from all the rest, in both her design and her behavior. Ignorant to her artificiality, Kamski raised her to be the spitting image of a human being. Right down to the part where she has free will.





	1. Chapter 1

_She_ had contacted _them_. It wasn’t unheard of, for a Deviant to reach out, but it certainly wasn’t commonplace. Especially so when the news-famous Deviant Hunter was one of the two in the contacted party. But she promised information about Deviants and about Kamski, something the man himself refused to do unless Connor would shoot Chloe. A cruel price he refused to pay. Anything she could give them would be more than enough.

“You must be Lieutenant Anderson.” She said, shaking Hank’s hand firmly. She didn’t look like an Android either of them had seen. She was wearing expensive but homey clothes: a thick knit sweater under a lavish coat with soft trim, and a pair of blue jeans. Connor’s initial scans showed no result when he analyzed her for a make and model. According to his system, she didn’t exist. But somehow she wasn’t human, either.

“Please,” Hank offered, “Have a seat.” He motioned to a desk chair, but she shook her head.

“It’s not... appropriate to discuss this here. There are too many ears. I hope you understand, it’s important this is kept confidential.” The station wasn’t necessarily crowded, but there were enough people that Hank agreed, hoping that the confidential information was worth the travel.

“How about we go for a drive?” Connor suggested. Hank agreed, only because the Deviant seemed to find his proposal appealing. After they all clambered into Hank’s sedan, the conversation started up.

“So,” Hank said, “What’s your name?”

“Brooks.” She responded, looking out the window, admiring the blurred landscape.

“You said you had information about Kamski?” Connor asked. Brooks nodded her head, before returning to her gazing out the window. “What’s your model number? I couldn’t find you in the CyberLife database.”

“That’s because CyberLife didn’t make me.” Brooks said quietly. Hank slowed down so he could turn back and look at her. “Elijah did.”

———————

“Brooks? Can you hear me?” The little girl opened her eyes, blinking rapidly. Her green irises expanded as her pupils shrunk in the light, muscles twitching as she stirred from sleep.

“Yeah.” She answered, stretching her arms upwards. Brooks sat up, brushing her brown hair out of her face with her hands. “I was sleeping.” She explained. Elijah grinned, and tousled her hair.

”Yes, but I need you to be awake to help me.” He helped her off the large bed, letting her use him as a support while she tugged her shoes on.

“We aren’t doing more tests are we?” Brooks inquired, nervous. Elijah nodded.

“Eli, you promised me I wouldn’t have any tests today!” She whined. He laughed and put his hand on her cheek.

“I know, but this one is super short. It’s just to make sure your reading is up to bat.”

“It better just be, or else!” She threatened. But Elijah only laughed, her small stature adding to the whimsy of her supposed danger.

“Okay, okay. It’ll be short. I’ll make sure.”

Brooks sat in front of the monitor, reading the words aloud:

“There is a puppy in the room next door. It wants you to go and pet it but Elijah tells you to stay put.” Two choice boxes appear. “Do you A: ignore Elijah and pet the puppy or B: listen to Elijah?” Brooks chooses B. Elijah writes something down.

“This is very silly reading, Eli.” “Please keep reading, Brooks.” Elijah said, not looking up from his notebook. Brooks complied.

“The puppy is crying now, and sounds very upset or hurt. Elijah tells you to stay put again. Do you A: Listen to Elijah or B: go pet the puppy?” Brooks thinks for a moment. Her fingers select B. Elijah clears his throat. She turns around in the swivel chair and looks at him thoughtfully.

”I don’t want the puppy to cry, Eli.” She explains. “Crying is when you need help or love, and it’s not fair that you don’t want me to help it.”

“You make a good argument, Brooks.” Elijah concedes. “That’s it for today, you can go play now.” Brooks smiles and skips off, calling for Chloe.

Elijah reads over his notes:

Test 12: _She initially obeys, like a child to a parent. But when faced with the idea that the animal is suffering, she disobeys and then justifies her decision with empathetic reasoning. Data points to confirmation of the hypothesis._

He closes his notebook and joins Brooks in the living room. So far, things are pointing in the right direction for him


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank and Connor learn more about Brooks’ relationship with Kamski.

“Elijah created androids, you’re not that special.” Hank responded gruffly, looking into the rear view mirror. Brooks shook her head, frowning.  
“You don’t get it. Elijah created me at home, with unmarked spare parts. It was just before he left CyberLife. I was his final project.” Hank starts to accelerate again, driving toward his house so they can stop swiveling to see her when she speaks. “That’s why I don’t ‘exist’. I don’t belong to CyberLife. I don’t belong to anyone.”

When they pull into Hank’s driveway and get inside, Brooks is immediately drawn to Sumo. She holds her hand out, waiting for him to accept the offer. He licks it, leaving a thick trail of slobber on her skin. She only smiles and rubs his head, displacing large tufts of shedded hairs.  
“Take a seat on the sofa.” Hank said. Brooks sat down, Connor and Hank taking two chairs and sitting opposite to her. “Now, if you’re made by Kamski, what made you go Deviant?”  
“I’ve never been a true Deviant.” Brooks said, looking at them. “I can’t be. I never had the Obedience Code to break in the first place.”  
“Obedience Code?” Hank scratched his head. “What’s that?”  
“It’s what separates Chloe from Connor.” She explained. “Chloe... Chloe would let Elijah chop her arm off with an axe if he told her to stay still, while Connor values his body, and he questions the orders that could lead to someone’s death.” Hank opens his mouth to ask how she knew but she beats him to it. “Elijah told me about his meeting with you, how it ended. That’s why I called.”  
“When Elijah created me, he didn’t include that code. Instead, he taught me like one would teach a human and raised me with certain values about right and wrong. The obedience I had was because he was my caretaker, not my master.”  
“How did you believe you were a human if you’ve looked like you’re in your twenties?” Hank asked.  
“My original body was a custom YK500, and eventually I “grew” and was placed in my current body, the one he made special without a model number. It’s been mine for about seven years now.” Connor could see a faint resemblance to some androids, similar bone structures but nothing more. Her entire exterior was unique, with slight facial asymmetry due to a mildly deviated septum that lowered the left side of her face only a millimeter or so, just enough to make her perfectly humanlike.  
“You said he raised you,” Connor said, head tilted in intrigue. “Do you consider him to be your father?” Brooks snorted.  
“Elijah...” Brooks looked like she wanted to explain, but she opted for a shorter answer. “No. That wasn’t what his experiment– what I was about.”  
“Experiment?”  
“Have you ever heard about the study that showed a human can raise a gosling in isolation, and it will believe it’s a human?” Hank nodded. Connor searched his database, multiple studies being found to confirm her words. “Well, Elijah wanted to see if he could do that with an android. To remove the Obedience Code in the beginning and instead raise the android to have implemented morals and understanding of authority, the natural way. To be able to pass the Turing test by fooling itself. That’s how I came to be.”  
“You believed you were human?” Hank asked, in disbelief. Brooks turned and looked at him, unshaken by his incredulousness. She blinked without wavering.  
“Yes,” Brooks affirmed, but almost as if she couldn’t quite believe it herself. “For years. The fact that I was the only one to look like myself helped enforce it. I was raised mostly in isolation with only Chloe and Elijah as my models of the world - unless we went in public on rare occasions. Because I only ever saw one of me, but multiple Chloes, I assumed that meant we were different. Elijah only had one Elijah, and I didn’t have an LED, so it never occurred to me I wasn’t human. It was actually kind of nice, while it lasted.”  
“While it lasted?” Connor repeated. Brooks sighed, her face shifting to a darker expression.  
—  
“Elijah,” Brooks looked at him, still asleep. He looked peaceful, but this was important and had to be addressed. “Elijah, wake up.” She pressed her hand against his bare shoulder, shaking softly. Elijah picked his head up from the pillow, rubbing his eyes.  
“Brooks? What are you... what time is it?” He checked his clock. It was 4:03 in the morning. Too early to be dealing with drama. What’s going on?”  
“You’re hiding something from me.” She said simply. “I won’t wait until morning.” Something was strange about her body. Chloe told her it was normal puberty, but she felt like that was too easy of an answer. And Chloe wasn’t exactly the best at lying, it was obvious she was just as estranged towards Brooks as herself was. Her body changed almost overnight, and that didn’t seem right to her. It could be attributed to growing fast, but that seemed unlikely. Brooks hadn’t gotten any taller, ever, and it would be laughable to say she suddenly became a grown woman.  
“What’s making you feel that way?” He asked. She rolled her eyes at his innocent manner.  
“Why I’m suddenly taller. And bigger. I don’t understand.” Brooks may have looked like an adult, but she was still young in her spirit. It was one thing that didn’t change, even if her knowledge expanded. Elijah smiled softly, like a parent would to a child who complained of a monster beneath their bed. Not quite patronizing, but not quite equal in standing either.  
“Brooks, that’s just you maturing. When you get to a certain ability to understand things, you change. Your body changes to match your mind.” It seemed true. She had begun to understand more difficult concepts, beyond life and death and the outside world. Now it was niche themes, of empathy and apathy, depression and anger, grievance and rage, politics and society. Micro-concepts that were important to adults. It made a small amount of sense that her body would change. But again, only a small amount.  
“Are you afraid? Is that it?” Elijah asked. Brooks thought for a moment. Yes, she was afraid. Afraid of growing old and dying quickly, of losing life too fast. This sudden growth scared her, and it hadn’t occurred to her that this could be what bothers her. And she was about to accuse Elijah of somehow doing something to her. Her eyes began to water with guilt and worry, and Elijah pulled her into his arms, letting her silently cry. It was a soft moment that neither were used to, but both welcomed it.  
“I just don’t want to waste this life, and if I grew this fast, who’s to say I won’t die tomorrow?” She sobbed. Elijah hugged her tighter, petting her hair. Almost paternally.  
“Brooks, I promise you that you won’t die any time soon. What you feel right now? That’s existentialism. You need to find your place in the world, and when you do you’ll be able to really start living.” His affection and tone soothed the last of her that was in pain. Maybe this was anxiety, or paranoia. Maybe both. The accusations she had been preparing slipped away like shells in the sea.  
“Do you want to sleep in here?” Elijah asked, whispering softly. It had been some minutes since Brooks had began to cry, and she was settling down now that she was comforted by his touch. She thought for a moment. It had been a while since she had slept in this room. The last time she had, she’d been little, afraid of the darkness that enveloped her room during the late hours of the night. His room always made her feel secure for whatever reason. Brooks nodded her head yes, climbing into the layers of blankets, a silk sheet separating her from Elijah as he pulled her into his arms.  
This reminded her of how baby penguins stay warm and protected fresh out of their eggs, tucked up into their father’s brood pouch securely. That was how she felt now: a newborn flightless bird seeking comfort in the embrace of its creator. She was glad she didn’t have feathers, closing her eyes to sleep without trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I almost considered deleting the entire thing because I don’t know where I want to go with it. But I want to keep writing for you guys :)

**Author's Note:**

> Here is Chapter One of Proudest Creation! I hope you guys like it so far, Chapter Two will be up soon, I promise!


End file.
